5,000 of 10,000 practice hours completed: HALF WAY!

When I first started The Dan Plan back in April 10, 2010 I thought it was going to take four years to accomplish 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. Shortly after commencing it was clear that the journey would take much longer (definition of Deliberate Practice being highly focussed over shorter periods of time, not long blocked practice) and that it would bring me to places, both externally and internally, I could not have imagined from the onset. Now, half way through the determined goal of 10k hours I am trying to reflect on what this journey has come to mean to me and what I can potentially expect from the second half yet to come.

For a little retro action, here is a video from the very first day of The Dan Plan:

I had no clue what I was getting into and putting from one foot away from the hole was “golf” to me. You can tell I was a newbie from the yellow jacket, blue jeans and running shoes. That outfit quickly changed as I realized there was actually a type of uniform to this game, which still strikes me as a bit odd as I’ve never noticed how a collared shirt helps one golf

Learning about golf and proper attire I ran into all sorts of people/outfits from the more traditional:

To the more modern man:

I knew there was a perfect compromise for me and I slowly worked my way from a rubber raincoat to wool sweaters then to the polyester shirts you see on Tour to finally finding some, in my mind, wearable cotton shirts that I have been wearing every day since. In a way golf has changed how I look on a daily basis as I pretty much now don some form of non-denim pant and a collared shirt whereas 4 years ago it was jeans and a t-shirt unless I had to go to a funeral or a dinner with grandma.

………

Over the years the press started warming up to the journey. The first major story that came out was written by Michael Kruse of the Tampa Bay Times. It was a good read and he did a wonderful job reporting, even driving the 274 miles from Tampa to Tallahassee with me and staying overnight to attend a presentation I gave at Florida State University. That story is here: Tampa Bay Times

Since then it has been picked up by all sorts of media outlets from TV stations in China and Korea to blogs in Norway and magazines across the globe, CBS just ran a Sunday morning piece earlier this week. Way more exposure than I had ever imagined and it has been an honor to hear all of the reactions from the story. These have run the gambit from adulation to completely despising the idea. Luckily we are all fortunate enough to have our own opinions and equally fortunate is the ability to appreciate or slough off the externalizations of others.

But, what have a learned so far? That’s a tall order as so much happens in four years of a life. Has it been a journey filled with inspiring times and conquered obstacles or is it becoming the regretful decision in life that I sought so hard to avoid in the first place? It really just depends on which day you ask me, although for the vast majority of days it would definitely be the former.

Sometimes I can’t imagine doing anything else and I love this journey, but on a few occasions I have found it hard to muster up the drive to remain focussed. That’s just what happens when you do something constantly for four years. Life’s not a movie and emotions flow like the tide. I think the lesson I have learned is to allow the bad times to pass as the better are always on the horizon and when the good moments are here remember to appreciate them. Also, don’t forget how green your own grass is before you start looking out over those fences. Some cliches are better than others.

What I have done the worst over the past four years is to attract and hold on to potential sponsors. I never imagined how hard it was going to be to find some support for a project like this and am slowly coming to the conclusion that I will have to go about it on my own for the remaining four years. When I began I wrote down that I would give it two years and if I had not found a way to make the project self-supported I would reconsider and redirect. Then the two year mark hit and I was still enjoying it so I kept at it as to me the payoff was in the journey and freedom that comes along with following one’s heart/dreams. Another two years has passed and I still agree with that sentiment, but as the funds deplete and the financial needs of this pursuit grow (for example tournament entry fees: to play in mini-tours can cost around $2,000 a week after entry, travel, room and board) it becomes harder to deny a creeping sense of looming financial needs.

I’ve paddled this canoe half way cross the sea so can figure out how to make it safely home on my own if need be. I never intended this to make money and was perfectly comfortable sidestepping my career for a few years in order to do some human potential explorations. That was when I thought it would be a four year project, though, and now that I am approaching 35 it’s hard to not worry about future finances, retirement, helping raise a family, health care, having a safe car and all sorts of other concerns that begin popping in one’s head when life’s conceptual longevity creep into the picture. There is a big difference between 29 and 35, surprisingly so.

I still love and cherish my freedom and decision, don’t get me wrong, it’s just that there is a greater sense of future than there was at the beginning. The thing about golf, too, is that it’s shockingly expensive. But that’s enough about that, this should be a celebration of time spent, not a time to linger on the finances of the future.

Long story short is that I hope to be able to finish the entire 10,000 hours and will do what I need to do in order to make that happen. Goals often require sacrifices and I was well aware of that when I began.

Back to learning…

I have learned a lot about golf, quite a bit about what it takes to improve and that “plateaus” are just periods where more time and a fresh outlook is needed to surpass. I have yet to see any specific or generalized reason why this goal of making it to the PGA Tour (or subsequently any specific goal) is not possible and I now firmly believe that anything is possible and that we have not yet begun to understand the limits of human potential. It might be strange to use golf as an analogy for our capabilities, but I see it as a clear window into better understanding both mental and physical performance.

Speaking of those two types of performance, I see the second half of this pursuit becoming more about mental training than physical.

Over the past 5,000 hours I have spent the vast majority of my time learning how to physically swing a golf club and understanding the mechanics of that swing as well as the physics behind what makes a golf ball bend in the air. It took a long time to get to the point where I had an efficient swing and that took up most of my training time. I also spent some hours grasping the rules of the game and learning what it meant to play golf as well as how to score, but that was almost a side project during the first half.

I have noticed a lot of transition in my training and emphasis lately and it is evident that the emphasis from here on out is going to be more on the mental approach to the game. For example, I have gotten to the point where I can work a ball well on the range with any club and hit my targets while doing so, but under the pressure of an actual match my skill level seems to, on occasions, diminish. Learning how to perform in those situations and how to self-correct in the middle of an important round is tantamount to future success and will be the keys to moving forward.

That’s not to say I will stop focussing on mechanics nor will I not continue to try and increase my swing speed and accuracy, but just that there are crucially important aspects of getting to the next level that happen more internally than externally. I always knew this would be both a physical and mental pursuit, but am just beginning to understand exactly how large a roll the mental aspects play in performance.

Today randomly happens to also be the 4 year anniversary of this pursuit. A fitting day to be both half way and 4 years in. And, the Masters start today. To me that means my goal is to be playing in the Masters on the 10k finishing day which should be early April 2018. Now that’s a target I can shoot for.

Thank you all for following along over these past four years. The encouragement and support has been huge in keeping me focussed throughout each day and the fellowship of friends (either in person or via email) that has gathered along the way has easily been one of the best parts of this journey. Here’s to another set of amazing years and unknown obstacles yet to be conquered.

To celebrate the day I played in Riverside’s Masters Day tournament. I had no expectations heading into the round and saw it as a good position marker for the 5k to come. I hit the ball well and despite the punched and sanded greens actually putted very well, shooting a 75 that landed me tied for 3rd out of the 88 entrants. That score also put me in second place gross. The low round of the day was a 73 shot by a plus two handicap golfer. A 75 is a good sign of things to come and my lowest tournament round to date.

Also, part of the round was to pick a random pro playing in the Masters today and our rounds get paired together for a combined gross score. I drew Phil Mickelson and proceeded to beat him by one stroke on the day. Augusta is a much harder challenge and I didn’t play under the same pressure, but it still felt good to beat the pro I was paired with as he shot a 76 today.

Congratulations, very inspiring.
With respect to the finances, I don’t know how that fits into the hours accounting, but at some point you’ve got to also learn the business of golf, and decide how that works into your life (or your life into it). At some point in the next 5000 hours, you will have sufficient skills to make money via golf. The Beatles got paid (not a lot, true) for those long nights in Hamburg. The same is true for most athletes or other professionals as they reach the semi-pro stage (call it a scholarship, or a minor-league wage).

One aspect which will be interesting to hear about, is how the you deal with what must be inevitable mounting distractions during the metamorphosis from a trainee trying to get 10,000 hours, to a professional competitor. A professional athlete, in golf or any other sport, is also an entertainer who sells a performance. (Or at least that’s what it looks like to me, selling tickets and advertising space!)

Congratulations Dan ! Your pursuit is an inspiration to me in all aspects of my daily life, not just my game of golf. I wish you all the very best for the next 5000 hours and will be following you the whole way !

Hello Dan!
I follow your blog almost from begining and I really wish you all best.

There is one thing that I don’t understand about your way of counting practice hours.
How
do you count your practice hours, because when I follow your countdown
day after day, It looks like you don’t count round of golf as a 4 hours
practice (+/- for every golfer). Sometimes you count 18 holes as 2 hours
of practice, sometimes you don’t count it at all. Do you have some converter to count your practice hours? And If you have could you explain WHY?
I thought that the reason that you count every hour is because you want to prove/check that:
”…Through 10,000 hours of “deliberate practice,” Dan, who currently has minimal golf experience, plans on becoming a professional golfer…”
But
if you don’t count every hour of your practice but only some hours
(choosen by you) all “experiment” starting to loose sense, because at
the end it’s not going to be 10.000 hours but 20.000 or even more.
Juse few examples to prove my question:
—–April 10, 2014: 18 holes — counted as 2 hours of practice
—–April 8, 2014: 18 holes — counted as 2 hours of practice
—–April 7, 2014: 18 holes — counted as 2 hours of practice
—–April 6, 2014: 2*18 holes — counted as 4 hours of practice
—–March 30, 2014: 18 holes & par 3 course — counted as 3 hours of practice
This is only couple of days back, all last year looks like this

Could you explain me the way you count your practice hours, and the reason that you count it exactly that way, not the other?

Dear Dan, I have to echo what everyone else here says. CONGRATULATIONS! I am looking forward to the day when I see you playing in the Masters, I think that if you continue on the path you will get there. I find it troubling that you have not yet found a sponsor, and am surprised that someone like Nike or another large company wouldn’t find it an attractive proposition. Have you actively sought out corporate sponsorship? Or has it been more passive, hoping the press attention would get someone interested enough to offer to back you? In any event, my family and I are watching your progress with GREAT INTEREST. I am the father of a very promising 7 year old tennis player, who picked up a racket a year and a half ago, and never put it down. Since one month ago, she is training in the top tennis academy in the world, and the coaches there said they have not seen a girl like this in a very long time and are extremely excited about her. In some aspects, the journey is similar to yours in that I believe that she will get on the pro tour (her goal, not mine) by logging in the hours. I’ve seen the difference between “practice” and “purposeful practice”. I’ve seen the difference between bad coaching, ok coaching, good coaching and GREAT coaching. For what it’s worth, I think you are doing everything right. I do have one question for you, though, and would find your answer really interesting. If money were absolutely no object at all, and you had unlimited funds to spend on your training and coaching, would there be anything you would do differently? If so, what would that be?
Wishing you all the best on your very INSPIRING and AMAZING journey!

Even before Dan replies, I’d say that 2 hours is a good number of hours to use for 18 holes. Imagine you were playing on a difficult course on a busy day — a 5-hour round. Should that count as 5 hours of practice? By contrast, I would say that most rounds of 75 shots, with some think-time between the shots, constitute about 100-120 minutes of “deliberate practice.”

3foot1 is right on. I have a detailed explanation somewhere in this blogs’ depths that I will try and find, but the gist is that the 10,000 hours are deliberate practice, not just time spent playing and there has to be a compromise when rounds are concerned. When I play alone a round takes me 2 hours if there is nobody in front of me. When I play a tournament round like the one I participated in today I can make the same number of swings and theoretically spend the same amount of time learning or practicing the game but the round took about 6 hours. I can’t exactly say that I spent 6 hours “practicing” today as a lot of the time was just waiting. But, there are certain things you can only learn on the course so I have to count it for something. I decided from the beginning that 18 holes was going to be counted as 2 hours. Everything else is the exact time spent. That is the one consideration.

That is so wonderful that your daughter is loving something as much as she seems to be from your post. I hope she keeps that drive alive and sticks with it. She is very lucky to have an encouraging family and support system. I live with a 7-year-old (Mary’s son) and it’s amazing to watch him learn as I’m sure you know from your daughter. Great coaching can be absorbed so well at that stage and having the right person who can communicate well with kids makes a huge difference.

I have thought a bit about what I could do currently in the golfing realm to get by and it seems that teaching is the most obvious choice, although I am not that interested in giving lessons. I think my personal skill set would be better suited for teaching non-golf aspects of life, but I have not quite figured out what that looks like yet. Perhaps I will find some sort of sponsor to allow me to go directly into a professional player mode, or I may have to take odd jobs and save up to be able to give it a go a few years from now when I am much closer to finalizing the 10,000 hours. Only time will tell, but I will be proactive in making the right decisions along the way.

Congratulations on your achievments so far!!! To realise the importance of the mental game so early in your golfing life is quite the achievment Dan! I also see the spiritual lessons of golf are making themselves seen, its a very exciting time for you! Keep playing, keep being you and those other things will work themselves out.

Considering your background and current pursuit, have you considered golf related art photography of the major courses your on as a money raiser? Calenders, prints etc?. This might be out there, but activley pursuing publicity (Kimmel show, online golf blogs etc.) may really pay off for you!.

Dan this is fantastic! I am forever inspired by people who do something they love as opposed to “work for the man”. Such an interesting journey you are on and one that many people only dream of. I check your site daily to see how you are going, good luck with it all and I am(as well as many others I’m sure) very interested to see some insights on to the mental side of golf. Congratulations!

Hello Bearded,
Good ideas about the photography. I have a huge amount of past photos that I could go through and edit and get set up online for print purchases. Also, will definitely pursue some publicity and perhaps one day it will be to the point where that may pay a bit.
Tons of options. thanks!
Dan

Dan, congrats on making the halfway mark. I’ve been watching your journey since about 1400 hours, and it’s fascinating. As for your post-golf future (are you still planning to leave golf, no matter what happens at 10K?), you should consider starting to line yourself up as an educational/motivational speaker. You will have taken a unique journey, and I think LOTS of people will love hearing your story and its lessons, and that includes people who don’t golf. Hopefully you won’t have to put in 10K hours to give a good presentation!
What’s I’m looking forward to over the next four years is to see if anything happens to your “regular guy” vibe. Will you become Dan 2.0, the Intensity Machine? Whatever happens, this 8-year trek you’re taking has become woven into the fabric of lots of lives. It’s like an 8-year play that somehow remains compelling. Cheers, and here’s looking forward to 5K-10K!

It’s nice to see someone else out there with great ambitions as myself. I have been playing golf on and off for around 5 years but never very serious or much practice. But this year 2014 I decided to set myself a challenge. Turn pro by the end of the year 2014. I started my journey off 27 handicap in February. I’m now off 18 in April. I’m a little behind to where I would like to be, but my next mini goal is to be playing in A grade by the end of May. And I am very confident that I will reach that. I’m already 34 and I have wasted too much time. So here’s to your final 5000 hours and to my final 9 months. Bottoms up and good luck. Perhaps I’ll see you on tour in the near future!

I think your mental toughness is possibly even higher than most pros. Would a tour pro succeed in becoming a professional tennis player? Probably not, he would have bailed out. 10k hours is not a physical test, it is a mental endurance test. A test that is easier if you believe you are especially gifted and very tough if you know you are not.

Why not do some “Dan Plan” exhibitions? Maybe start off with small, local sponsors for the purse and match yourself up with players around the same handicap?

As I’m sure you know, you are somewhat well known, and I bet you could use that to get little tourneys like so going.

You have many supporters out there and I bet, just as many golfers who want find out how they stack up against someone who starter playing golf at the age of 29 and just finished top 3 at a local tournament.

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Who is Dan?

Dan decided in April 2010 to quit his job and, with zero previous experience in the game, dedicate 10,000 hours of practice to golf. Follow his journey as he discovers how practice translates into success.